Have you ever wondered how many people sitting next to you in the emergency department actually need to be there?

Key points:

Federal Government spending on GP visits averaged $357 per person last financial year

7 per cent of Australians either delayed or didn't buy medication due to cost

Government hospital spend per person remains the same compared to previous years, despite overall spend increasing

Well, according to the latest Productivity Commission report, there were almost 3 million "avoidable" hospital presentations last financial year, where people who should have seen a GP went to the ED instead.

So why then are people still going to hospital departments when they don't need to?

The report said avoidable hospital presentations occur when GPs are hard to access, and that a high number of unnecessary ED visits can mean there are problems with primary care.

It's what the Australian Medical Association has consistently argued, as doctors call for more funding to go towards general practice services.

Doctors say avoidable hospital presentations are an inefficient use of the health system, putting pressure on emergency departments and increasing waiting times, and that governments would be better off spending more money on funding GP visits.

So how much do we spend on GPs and medication?

Australia is spending more on GPs than in previous years, with the report revealing that in 2017-18, Federal Government spending on GP visits averaged $357 per person.

That's despite the Government spending $8.7 billion through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on prescription medicines filled at pharmacies in the last financial year.

What about hospital spend?

The Federal Government consistently talks about how it's putting more money into public hospitals.

The overall spend has gone up from $42 billion in 2015-16, to $44 billion in 2016-17.

However, when that's broken down — and population growth is taken into account — the report shows the spend per person is the same at $2,600.

Are chronic health conditions being properly managed?

The Productivity Commission looked at the way chronic health conditions such as diabetes or asthma are managed, using that as an indicator of whether primary and community health services are adequate.

It found almost 50 per cent of all diabetes patients had a HbA1c level above the target of seven per cent.

The HbA1c test tells you what your average blood sugar level was over a three-month period, and anything higher than seven per cent means there's a greater chance of complications.

Put simply, the report found half of Australians with diabetes are not properly managing their condition.

It's not all bad news

As we know, Australians are living longer than ever.

The average life expectancy for men is now 80.5 years of age, while women are living, on average, until 84.6.

Last financial year had the lowest number of avoidable deaths in 11 years of data, at 102.7 per 100,000.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that Australians on average spent $357 per year on visiting a GP. That number actually refers to Government expenditure for the average Australian.